For all of us who complain that buying books online is cheap but boring, compared to the joy of browsing through books at a proper store (although I suppose now that Blackwell's has the Espresso Book Machine, we can augur The End of the Bookstore As We Know It), a Canadian web entrepreneur has launched Zoommii.
Chris Thiessen, the (Canadian) guy who set it up, says that he wanted to recreate the experience of browsing through bookshelves, but with online prices. You can browse at Zoommii, add books to your shopping cart, and then click through to buy them on Amazon.
Right now Zoommii is only available in Canada and the US, but the plan is to go abroad with it - the UK is next.
My opinion? I still like bookstores. There's a physical pleasure to books which has always been the real reason why I don't shop for books online. I like to know the smell of a book, the way the grain of the paper feels under my fingertips, whether it opens gladly in my hands.
What do you think?
http://zoomii.ca/
Jane
Date: Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:09 AM GMT
What about the EBM and POD scenario with custom bookbinding at extra charge from bookstores?
Spex
Date: Tue Oct 21, 2008 07:56 AM GMT
I agree, I like the tactile sensation of touching books and flipping the pages, feeling the paper, everything you said, basically (that's why one of the first places I visit when I go home is the bookshop to see what people are into there). That said, since selling books online is here to stay, doing a Shelfari-like bookstore (which is a method BookRabbit is using, but they use actual photos of your bookshelves) is a nice thing, although I'm not sure if it will translate into increased sales.
